It is known to package smoking articles and other consumer goods in containers comprising an outer shell or sleeve and an inner slide or drawer mounted in the outer shell for slidable movement relative thereto. To access goods housed in the inner slide of such “slide and shell” containers, a consumer pushes the inner slide from an initial closed position, in which the inner slide is surrounded by the outer shell, to an open position, in which a portion of the inner slide projects outwardly from the outer shell in order to expose an open end or side of the inner slide through which the goods may be removed.
Slide and shell cigarette packs in which the cigarettes are housed in an inner slide having a hinged lid that covers an open end of the inner slide are also known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,874 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,299.
The slide and shell packs disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,874 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,299 suffer from the disadvantage that apertures or gaps are formed between the side walls of the lid of the inner slide and the side walls of the remainder of the slide and shell pack as the lid hinges open. Aside from being aesthetically undesirable, such apertures may disadvantageously result in the inadvertent loss of goods from the inner slide of the pack.
It would be desirable to provide a slide and shell container for smoking articles and other consumer goods comprising an inner slide with a lid wherein opening of the lid does not result in the formation of significant apertures in the sides of the container.
It would also be desirable to provide a slide and shell container for smoking articles and other consumer goods having an automatic lid opening-mechanism wherein the lid is opened to a pre-determined maximum extent upon activation of the lid-opening mechanism.